


Paint Me Yours

by supremeleaders



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Art, Ben is 28, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Historical Inaccuracy, Jakku, Mutual Pining, Painting, Pining, Rey is 18, Reylo - Freeform, Romance, Smut, The First Order, Victorian, age gap, cliches, mentions of abuse, probably, reylo au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 08:53:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22967242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supremeleaders/pseuds/supremeleaders
Summary: Based on a prompt from @Reylo_Prompts - Victorian AU: Orphan Rey has done anything in her power in order to survive in the cruel London’s streets, even theft. Ben Solo is a nobleman of the notorious Skywalker family, bored and is in search of a model for his hobby, painting… when he spots Rey on the streets, he offers her the job. Rey knows it’s a scandalous profession, but still better than her other options. Bonus if, at a certain point, Ben paints on Rey’s skin.
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 31
Kudos: 81
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Welcome to my first WIP :) I apologise in advance for any historical inaccuracies and I guess art/painting inaccuracies aswell, I'm not an expert on either but I really hope you enjoy reading!

**London, England, 1878.**

Rey was orphaned at the age of 5 after losing both of her parents in a factory fire. Being so young when it happened, Rey couldn’t remember much of her parents, not even their names, she’d always known them as ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’. After they passed away it was as if they’d never even existed, no friends, no other family, no one that cared. No one even cared enough to give them a proper funeral. They had been buried in an unmarked grave in one of the local cemeteries (Rey had no idea which one, no one ever cared to tell her). It was as if they never existed.

The only memory of them that Rey had was a trip they took to the candy store on her 5th birthday. Rey’s parents had saved some money from their earnings at the factory so Rey could get some of her favourite toffee as a birthday present. It was Rey’s happiest memory. The only happy memory she had.

•·················•·················•

_Rey was sat up high on her father’s shoulders as they walked to her ‘birthday surprise’. Her mother was at her father’s side, her hand clasped in his as she gazed up at Rey with a beaming smile._

_They approached and stopped outside of the sweet shop. ‘Here we are my sunshine… Happy Birthday!’ her father smiled._

_Rey squealed with glee._

_‘I cannot believe you’re 5 already, you’re practically a woman!’ her mother gasped jokingly. Making Rey giggle loudly._

_Rey had only had toffee once before; when a young boy from her neighbourhood gave her a piece to try. Her parents couldn’t afford to buy such luxuries on factory workers wages alone, without having to save up._

_The candy store was magical. Rey had never seen so many bright colours in her short life. Pinks, blues and yellows were swirling across the walls, floor and counter. Jars filled with sweets of all shapes and sizes were stacked on shelves from the floor to the ceiling._

_Rey was mesmerised._

_She politely asked the shopkeeper for toffee pennies, he smiled and handed them to her in a pink and white paper bag. Her parents had managed to save enough money to get Rey three toffee pennies._

_Once they’d left the sweet shop Rey grabbed the toffee pennies out of the paper bag and handed one to her mother, one to her father and kept one for herself._

_‘Sunshine, we can’t take your sweets, they’re for your birthday.’_

_‘But you said that sharing is nice… and I want to be nice, daddy!’_

_‘You are nice, my sweet girl. Thank you for sharing.’_

_Rey walked in between her parents and grasped both of their hands tightly as they sucked on the toffee pennies and walked home as a family._

•·················•·················•

Shortly after that they died.

Not long after their death, as her parents were the only family she had, Rey found herself being dragged kicking and screaming to a local orphanage. Jakku Orphanage.

The orphanage was hell. Children over the age of 4 were made to work in factories or as chimney sweeps to earn their keep, then when they got home from what could be 12-hour long shifts, they were forced to cook for themselves and clean until the entire building was spotless.

The orphanage was owned and ran by a disgusting, foul smelling old man called Unkar Plutt. The most he ever did to care for the children was ensuring that there was food available, it was only enough to keep the children from starving however and it was always the cheapest foods he could possibly find, he had to make sure they were well enough to be able to work, and starving children couldn’t work. If the children were unable to work, they had their food privileges revoked. He’d even been known to take bedding and mattresses out of children’s rooms to cause them as much discomfort and misery as possible if they weren’t working.

Each week when Friday came around the children were expected to hand Plutt their full wages, they weren’t allowed to keep even a penny for themselves. Plutt took everything. He had the children believing, by making up horror stories, that if they said anything to anyone they would end up in a much worse orphanage than his, or on the streets left to starve.

Rey lived at Jakku orphanage until she ran away at age 15. The factory she had been working at had shut down unexpectedly and when it was time to give Plutt his money, she couldn’t. Resulting in her getting a black eye and several welts from a belt across the backs of her thighs. That was the final straw for Rey; she had to leave the orphanage, anywhere was better than this.

She was 18 now and had been living on the harsh streets of London since she ran away. It was a tough life, but she had nowhere else to go, no one to turn to, no other options. She survived by pickpocketing unsuspecting, wealthy looking strangers and stealing what food she could from busy market stalls.

She had numerous offers from a sleazy old greaseball called Snoke that ran a Brothel known as The First Order, he’d propositioned her numerous times promising her riches if she would ‘work’ for him. Rey had considered it but something about Snoke was… off to say the least. She didn’t want to find herself in a similar situation to what she went through at Jakku. She was surviving just fine on her own for the time being, she didn’t need or want anyone’s help or money.

Until she met Ben Solo.

•·················•·················•

Ben Solo was an heir and nobleman. He was the sole heir to the Amidala and Organa fortunes and the youngest member of the well-known Skywalker family, the family of which Anakin Skywalker founded Skywalker Industries before going insane and taking his own life well before Ben was born. He was as close to royalty as you could get without a crown. He had got everything he could’ve possibly wanted from the day he was born. Some would even say he was spoiled.

To say Ben had lived the life of luxury would be an understatement. He spent his childhood visiting various art galleries with his parents, Leia and Han, as well as spending most of his time within his mother’s own gallery, Resistance.

The walls of Resistance art gallery were lined with paintings, old and new, telling stories of the various artists lives. Resistance was one of the most prestigious galleries in Alderaan.

Ben had loved and been around art for his entire life. It was all he’d ever known.

•·················•·················•

_‘Ben be careful! Those paintings are very old and delicate. You need to be very gentle.’_

_‘Sorry, Mama... I like this one, its very pretty.’_

_‘This one is called ‘La Bella’, Benny, it was painted by a man called Titian a very long time ago.’_

_Ben stared in complete fascination at the painting._

_‘Where’s my boy?’_

_‘DADA!’_

_Ben ran giggling with glee into his fathers embrace._

_‘I hope you’ve been good for Mama today.’_

_‘I have Dada! I always am! Dada, Look at this painting! It’s very old and it was painted by a man called Tee-tee-uh-‘_

_‘Titian, Benny.’ Leia laughed._

_Han let Ben drag him by the hand around the gallery showing him all of his favourite paintings for what seemed like the hundredth time whilst Leia watched fondly, a smile on her face as she watched her son and husband interact._

_‘You’re just like your Mama, kiddo.’ Han ruffled Ben’s hair as he smiled brightly up at him whilst clinging onto Han’s leg tightly._

•·················•·················•

Ben received his first painting kit for his 5th birthday. It was filled with the finest brushes and paints that money could buy. Shortly after, Ben discovered he had a natural talent for painting. As he got older; He experimented with different subjects and art styles until he found one that he was especially good at, Portraits. His mother hired many models for him to paint over the years, but he never really connected with one specifically, it was always as if something was missing.

At the age of 18; Ben left his home of Alderaan in search of greater things. He moved to a large manor on the outskirts of London. He wanted to experience the art scene and culture of Europe and frequently visited cities all across the continent to view art in all of the best galleries.

He’d been to Paris, Rome, Madrid, Vienna, Amsterdam and every other city rich in the arts. Ben Solo was an extremely well-travelled and cultured man. He’d been to every art gallery worth visiting and he’d seen thousands of paintings by hundreds or artists. Art was his favourite thing in the world, he loved the way some paint, brushes and a canvas could tell an entire story and convey such strong emotion. He found it completely captivating and inspiring. He longed to find his muse; he knew they had to be out there somewhere.

Ten years later and Ben was becoming bored. He’d painted what felt like, or even could’ve been, hundreds of different models all over Europe and yet he never found one that felt quite right. Ben found his models wherever he could, in parks, stores, walking down the street but mostly he found his models within brothels. He was never completely satisfied with his work and he found it completely infuriating. Art and painting were the only things that brought Ben true happiness, and he felt as if he were failing each time he painted someone new.

Until he met Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the mild cliffhanger!!! (if you can even count that as a cliffhanger). I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up or even how many chapters this will be, I have a rough idea of what will happen in future chapters but feel free to comment any ideas you have and I might include them! I'd like to give a quick shoutout to my amazing friend Ren for naming this fic and for being supportive in general, please check out their work [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/renaissance_b/works) (you won't regret it) and lastly thank you so much for reading, It really means so much to me :) Feel free to leave a comment or talk to me on [tumblr](https://goodboybensolo.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/driversoIo)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben meet, things get a lil interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some research on what victorian noblemen wore and i saw [this](https://mk0whitechapeljkh4a7.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/victorian_era_mens_ulster_overcoat.jpg) and it kinda reminded me of Kylo's cape so that's the coat that is mentioned (a lot) in this chapter! 
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Ben was walking home from the art supply store when a small body crashed into his. Startled, he stumbled backwards slightly to regain his balance. Small arms wrapped tightly around his waist to prevent the tiny body from crashing to the floor. He looked down to find a pair of wide brown eyes belonging to a young girl staring nervously up at him. ‘I’m so sorry, Sir! I-I wasn’t looking-‘ the girl babbled. 

Ben couldn’t speak. 

Couldn’t think.

He could only stare down at the girl… the very beautiful girl, blinking softly as a nervous sweat prickled at the base of his neck. She was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen. Ben’s stomach flipped. He noticed the freckles scattered across her small angular nose and dotted up onto her prominent cheekbones. They reminded him of the stars on a clear night sky. He also noticed she was small, tiny and fragile compared to his large frame; he couldn’t help but think how perfectly she would fit tucked into his chest. 

Get it together, Solo. 

It was then he realised he was grasping her arms, which were still wrapped around him tightly, holding herself close to his large body. He quickly dropped her arms as if they were on fire. 

‘Sir? …Are you okay?’ the girl softly whispered. She was still blinking up at him with her arms secured around his waist. 

Ben finally found his voice ‘I’m fine.’ He squeaked. Ben cleared his throat. Her close proximity to him was making something stir deep inside him. It had been a very long time since he had a woman. ‘You-uh you can let go of me now.’ 

‘Oh.’ It was the girl’s turn to squeak as she untangled herself from around him. He found himself missing her touch. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before the girl quietly muttered she had to leave and turned to begin walking away. 

Ben’s head was spinning. This girl had such an effect on him. His heart sank slightly in his chest as he watched her walk away from him. 

A few seconds later Ben noticed the pockets on his long black wool trench coat felt lighter, a lot lighter. Realisation hit him like a wave… he had been robbed. 

‘HEY! WAIT!’ he bellowed as he started walking quickly towards the girl. 

•·················•·················•

Rey could have spotted him from a mile away, she had a knack for picking out his type from the crowds of London. Easy targets. Rich and unsuspecting. He was absentmindedly walking towards her, she could tell from the way he dressed, a long black wool trench coat with a built-in cape around his shoulders… the finest clothing someone could buy. He was Rich. Very rich. Probably a nobleman, defiantly someone of high status. And he was alone. This was going to be too easy. 

Rey prepared for the performance of a lifetime as he slowly made his way towards her, he didn’t notice her, they never do. No one ever paid attention to the street dweller in old ratty clothing. When he was a couple of feet away from her Rey threw herself into his chest, stuffing her arms inside his coat and tightly wrapping them around his waist. 

The shock of her collapsing into him stopped him from noticing her nimble fingers slipping into the inner pockets of his coat. The first thing she felt was made of metal and slightly soft… a tube of paint. It made her wonder what he needed paint for, surely this man wasn’t a painter… she thought painters were… well, like her, poor, from the streets, sharing their pain through a canvas. Stealing it would be pointless. There was nothing she could do with the paint; the risk of removing it from his pocket isn’t worth it. The next thing, a thick leather wallet. She silently prayed this man was as rich as he looked and stupid enough to carry around a lot of cash. As she was gently pulling her hand out from his pocket a thin chain hit her hand. A pocket watch. Jackpot! There was no way this man didn’t have the fanciest, most expensive pocket watch available. Rey unclasped the chain from his coat and slid the watch and wallet up her sleeves. 

She had done this a thousand times, and never once had she been caught. She was a natural. She didn’t enjoy stealing, in fact, she hated it, it disgusted her, she felt like she was disappointing her parents every time she reached into a clueless stranger’s pocket. But it was all she knew, there was no other option for her. She was a street rat and nothing more, she never would be anything more. 

It was showtime. She had to act like she was a clueless, frightened young girl to dissolve any suspicion. She widened her eyes and looked up at the man. Her apology rolled off her tongue as it always did, she always made sure to call her targets ‘Sir’ to make them feel respected and dominant, she’d found a boost to the ego helped with dissolving their anger or suspicion. However, this time no reply came. The man gaped down at her, Rey was confused… he looked almost… nervous? flustered? This was strange. Normally the men she stole from were angry until they looked into the eyes of a scared girl. But not him. She didn’t know how to react. Did he know? Should she run? No, nothing good would come from running. Did she hurt him? 

‘Sir? Are you okay?’ 

He seemed to snap back to reality. He was all blushes and stutters as he finally spoke to Rey. She noticed his accent, he isn’t from London, or even England, but she couldn’t exactly place where the accent was from. 

She carefully let go of his waist, praying he wouldn’t notice his missing wallet and pocket watch. She looked up at him again and noticed that this man, was indeed, extremely handsome. Beauty marks covered his face, he had a pair of soft looking pink plump lips and a strong nose. They had been staring at each other for an unnatural amount of time… did he know she’d stolen from him? Was he putting the pieces of what happened together? She needed to get out of here. Fast. 

‘Um-Ihavetogo.’ 

Rey turned and hurried quickly in the opposite direction of the handsome man. It wouldn’t be long before he noticed his missing belongings. She only made it a few meters away when the man shouted after her. 

She turned and saw he was speeding towards her. ‘Shit. Shit!’ Rey cursed to herself as she picked up her pace. He knew. This man wasn’t as stupid as Rey had hoped, it normally took much longer for them to connect the dots. She only made it a few hurried steps further until a large hand wrapped itself around her wrist. 

‘Stop running.’ 

A chill ran down Rey’s spine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! I'm sorry that this update took so long, my life has been pretty hectic recently with everything going on in the world. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy during these difficult and very strange times. I have already started writing chapter 3 so hopefully the wait won't be too long :) I'm also sorry this chapter is kind of short but it felt like a good place to leave things. Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to leave a comment or come talk to me on [tumblr](https://goodboybensolo.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/driversoIo)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Chapter 3 is here! We reached 600+ hits and 50+ kudos! Thank you all so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter! <3

Rey’s heart was going to beat straight out of her chest. The large hand gripped at her wrist tightly as she slowly turned to face its owner. Fear and guilt took over her face. She already knew who it was. Him. She watched him move closer, so his large frame towered over her, he still grasped her wrist tightly within his hand. She tried pulling it free but to no avail, he was much too strong for her frail body. Damn Plutt for underfeeding and starving her for all those years. Her mind was racing, trying to think of how she could get out of this. She could scream, but that would just draw attention to her crimes, that would certainly be a one way ticket to a jail cell. She could beg him for forgiveness. She could-

‘Don’t be afraid, I just want to talk.’ His voice held no anger. Confusion flashed across Rey’s face; she should be on her way to a small, dirty jail cell by now. He should be dragging her to the police. He should be yelling, calling her a disgusting, low life thief and telling her she would pay for her crimes. She stole from this man and he wants to talk? Was he out of his mind? Is he insane?

‘Wh-what? Talk about what?’ Rey gasped in her panic and confusion. 

‘I think you have something that belongs to me.’ 

Rey was panicking, how could she get out of this? ‘Unhand me, I’m not quite sure what you mean…’ Rey spat with a false confidence. 

He pulled Rey closer and gently slid his fingers into her sleeve. goosebumps blossomed over Rey’s skin as she let out a quiet gasp at the feeling of his large fingers gently creeping along the underside of her forearm. The man smirked as he saw the goosebumps form and felt Rey shiver under his touch. He pulled out his wallet and pocket watch from her sleeve and raised a thick black eyebrow at Rey. 

‘Please, Sir. I’m sorry. I just needed to eat. Please don’t have me thrown in a jail cell. I’d die in there.‘ 

He studied her face silently before his reply came. ‘Here, you can keep this. I just wanted my pocket watch back. It belonged to my father.’ He handed her his wallet. Rey just stared back at him dumbfounded, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Who the hell is this man? 

‘What is your name? I have a proposition for you.’ 

‘Proposition!? Sir, I-uh I’m not a prostitute.’ She whispered the last word to avoid drawing any more attention to their predicament. 

The man sighed. ‘No, I want you to pose for me. I paint and I would like you to be my model. I would pay you, Of course.’ 

Confusion flashed across Rey’s face ‘I robbed you and you want to pay me to be painted by you?’ 

‘Yes… You have a spark, there is a fire within your eyes. I want to capture it in my art. As I said, I will pay you handsomely, you’ll want for nothing. I own an apartment in the city. I rarely use it; you can stay there. You won’t have to resort to theft for your survival.’ 

Rey was utterly shocked. The promise of a better life was something Rey had been waiting for since the day she was sent to Jakku. She couldn’t say no. It felt as if the last 13 years of her life had been leading up to meeting this strange, handsome man. Being a model was somewhat scandalous but it was better than working in Snoke’s brothels or continuing to try and make a living off of pickpocketing. 

‘I understand that this is very spur of the moment, if you need some time-‘ The man added in response to Rey’s silence. 

‘Rey, my name is Rey. I guess I’m your new model.’ She cautiously reached out her hand to shake his, hoping this wouldn’t be some cruel joke and any second now he would have her arrested. 

The man took her hand and shook it. ‘Rey…?’ 

‘Just Rey.’ 

‘Rey... I’m Ben Solo. It’s a pleasure to do… ahem business with you. Let us go to the apartment and we can begin our arrangement.’ 

Rey followed closely behind him as he led her to the apartment. Ben. So that was his name. Ben Solo. She liked it. It suited him. 

‘Ben Solo.’ Rey whispered to herself. She liked the way it sounded coming out of her mouth. 

•·················•·················•

The apartment was everything Rey imagined and more. Reds and golds littered the room upon the walls and furniture, it was of course, the finest, high end furniture money could buy. The walls were lined with beautiful paintings, building a collection of fine art like this must’ve cost thousands. Ben really is ridiculously rich. 

Ben cleared his throat. ‘This way.’ 

Rey continued following Ben into a dimly lit room. Ben drew back the floor length red and gold curtains to light up the room. An easel was facing a matching red and gold sofa placed upon a wooden floor in the centre of the room. 

‘Please, sit.’ 

Rey perched on the sofa and eyed Ben as he walked around the room, collecting paints, brushes and other the art supplies he needed. Oh. He was going to paint her already. Rey had hoped she would have the chance to fix her hair and clothing beforehand. Maybe he wanted the painting to have a realistic ‘I just got caught pickpocketing and now I’m being painted (and paid) by the man I robbed.’ Vibe. 

‘Do you mind if I begin painting you now?’ 

‘No, That’s fine… I’ve never done anything like this before, how would you like me? What position?’ 

Ben felt a prickle up his spine at the phrasing of her question. His heart raced as he walked over to her and gently took her hands in his before placing them in her lap. He felt Rey shudder at the contact, goosebumps rose all over her skin again. His palms clammy at the contact and their closeness. He softly grabbed her chin with his fingers and angled her head to face the right, so she wasn’t directly facing Ben and the canvas. Ben always thought having his models gazing off softly to the left or the right made them look more natural, less like they had been positioned for a painting. Ben took a few steps back to admire her new position. She was a picture of beauty and grace. He felt a sweat building on his brow, she truly was beautiful. Just looking at her made him lose his breath. She was what he had always been looking for in his models. Her face alone told a thousand words, unlike the other bland models who were just pretty faces with no story, nothing to say, no spark behind their eyes, the same thing mirrored over and over again onto his canvas. 

‘You’re-That’s perfect, stay just like that.’ 

Ben sat at the easel and began his work. Rey stared at him intensely admiring the way his brow creased in concentration and how a small smile formed on the corner of his lips when, she could only assume, he liked what he painted or when he mixed a shade perfectly on his palette. She watched him work in silence, he was a thing of beauty. His just above shoulder length, wavy black hair fell into his face as he worked, small smudges of paint bloomed on his face as he kept pushing it back. His dark brown eyes; framed by soft lashes creased as he focused on the painting. Big hands and long fingers grasped onto the paint brushes of all different types as he flicked his wrist, smearing the paint expertly onto the canvas. A blush rose on Rey’s cheeks as she imagined those giant paws holding her, touching her, pulling her small body into his large one, sliding softly down her body and into her-

‘Are you okay? Do you need a break?’ Ben paused his work, noticing the red hue on Rey’s cheeks. 

Rey snapped out of her daydream, blushing furiously she squeaked ‘I’m fine!’ 

Ben nodded and continued working on the canvas, mixing different shades of paint on his palette as he went. He wanted this painting to be perfect, he finally had the perfect model he’d been searching for all these years. He wanted to capture the sunlight shining on her bringing out the different tones and shades of brown in her hair, the twinkle in her hazel eyes and the constellation of freckles upon her face. He wondered what she looked like when she smiled, really smiled, the kind of smile that makes your cheeks ache. Or when she laughed, pure joy across her features, laughing until she was dizzy and gasping for breath. Or what she would look like whilst her face was screwed up in pleasure. 

Focus, Solo. Keep it professional. 

He begged his brain to shut up and continued painting.

•·················•·················•

‘Oh my stars, Mr Solo… It’s… It’s beautiful.’ 

Rey stared in awe at the finished painting, it was as if she was staring into a mirror, a very flattering mirror that picked out your best features and drew all the attention them. She looked gorgeous, her hair looked shiny and healthy, her skin a beautiful shade of porcelain which her freckles sat on top of beautifully and her eyes… they glowed with flecks of gold mixed into the hazelly brownness that she always thought was boring and plain. How did he manage to paint them in such a way? She’d never seen herself in this way before, never thought of herself as beautiful, pretty maybe but definitely not beautiful but seeing herself through Ben’s gaze… she no longer felt like a scrawny, unnoticeable street rat; she felt like a beautiful, powerful young woman. A real lady. 

Ben felt heat blossom in his cheeks at her compliment, faint hints of a smile pulling on the corners of his mouth. ‘I could’ve done better…’ 

Rey ignored him. ‘Really, It’s wonderful. You’re extremely talented, Mr Solo.’ Rey’s eyes scanned over the painting finding new details every time she looked somewhere new. She found herself wanting to look at his art forever. 

‘Well It’s really all down to the model…’ Ben glanced at Rey to gage her reaction. His heart thumped erratically in his chest when he found her blushing profusely. He could almost see the heat rising in her cheeks.

Until something on the canvas caught her attention. 

‘Mr Solo, Who’s Kylo Ren?’ 

‘Hmm?’ Ben turned to face her from where he was cleaning off his brushes. 

‘The painting… it’s signed Kylo Ren.’ Rey looked up to meet his gaze. 

He paused for a second, as if wondering if he should open up to her, if he should trust her. 

His eyes met hers. 

‘Kylo Ren is my alias. I use a fake name on my art because my mother has connections to the industry. I want people to like my art because they truly like it, not because of my mother.’ 

‘Your mother, is she a painter like you?’ 

‘No, She runs an art gallery in Alderaan. My home. She ran it with my father for most of their marriage but he-uh-he’ Ben sighed deeply, glancing down at the floor as sadness flooded his features. 

Rey didn’t need any more information to figure out that Ben’s father had passed away. Rey thinks back to Ben mentioning having his fathers pocket watch. That’s why he chased after her and only cared about the pocket watch, not his wallet. Oh. Oh No. Guilt washed over her. She’d almost stolen something of extreme sentimental value to Ben. She would’ve just sold it for cash like it meant nothing. She felt sick. 

‘It’s okay.’ Rey grabbed Ben’s hand and squeezed it gently. ‘We don’t have to talk about it.’ 

Ben smiled softly at her. 

And squeezed her hand back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for reading! i appreciate every single one of you! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Once again, im not sure when the next chapter will be up but i promise it is coming and you wont have to wait too long! Feel free to leave kudos and comment or come talk to me on [tumblr](https://goodboybensolo.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/driversoIo) :)


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